Grade & Discuss S3E5 "Magic Duel"

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Or Trixie is a penny-pinching cheapskate who saved up for a long time. In all seriousness, there's a lot we don't know about how she found out about the amulet, how long she had her sights on it, and so forth. She could have been saving up for years. There will be plenty of fanfics covering the issue, I'm sure.

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Saving up for years? she was still hitting towns most of season 1 and probably fell into working there early in season 2, the gabby gums thing was everyone else finding out. She would only have been working there the 8 or so months from then until now.

I guess I'll be in the minority for the whole "alicorn" thing. I grew up with the actual meaning of the word. Never liked how it's misused here or in the general fandom.

Still, a great episode that oozes nods to the fandom. It's great to see a product that isn't just name-dropping, that proves the production team acknowledge a lot of what's gone before. This is one of the few episodes that directly follows on an earlier one, and thus grows many characters and the series as a whole. Since most of the episodes are one-offs with no particular consequences, this more arc-oriented story will surely be a fan-fave once all is said and done.

I guess I'll be in the minority for the whole "alicorn" thing. I grew up with the actual meaning of the word. Never liked how it's misused here or in the general fandom.

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Eh. The meaning of words change over time. And if it helps you feel better, it could be so named because it's an amulet made of alicorn and not because it's an amulet depicting an alicorn. That's a totally feasible explanation...that will undoubtedly be busted by the show referring to Celestia and Luna as alicorns somewhere down the line.

Eh. The meaning of words change over time. And if it helps you feel better, it could be so named because it's an amulet made of alicorn and not because it's an amulet depicting an alicorn. That's a totally feasible explanation...that will undoubtedly be busted by the show referring to Celestia and Luna as alicorns somewhere down the line.

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Fair enough - and truth be told, fifty years from now someone will probably be watching these early episodes (while waiting for the 53rd season of FiM to start, natch) and laugh at how some Brony got it wrong. :P

Yeah, fanservice can go wrong, as you've said. Fortunately, this was done very well. It gives me a "we know you guys exist and we thank you for being a part of it" kind of vibe. I may be wrong, but that's what I get from it. I do love the show, I love all of the talent behind the show, and as someone who wants to get into the voice acting business, it's very interesting to follow.

Yeah, fanservice can go wrong, as you've said. Fortunately, this was done very well. It gives me a "we know you guys exist and we thank you for being a part of it" kind of vibe. I may be wrong, but that's what I get from it. I do love the show, I love all of the talent behind the show, and as someone who wants to get into the voice acting business, it's very interesting to follow.

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Interestingly, according to Meghan's twitter, the story pitch for this episode was planned for season 2 and was accepted in January 2011 – almost two years ago. To put that in perspective, Boast Busters first aired on November 19th, 2010 –only two months prior; and the first BronyCon took place in June 2011, six months later. (!) Obviously, there was plenty of time for writing, storyboarding and animation to respond to the fanbase if, in fact, it ever did, but it does put the idea that this episode was fanservice into perspective.

Yeah, fanservice can go wrong, as you've said. Fortunately, this was done very well. It gives me a "we know you guys exist and we thank you for being a part of it" kind of vibe. I may be wrong, but that's what I get from it. I do love the show, I love all of the talent behind the show, and as someone who wants to get into the voice acting business, it's very interesting to follow.

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Interestingly, according to Meghan's twitter, the story pitch for this episode was planned for season 2 and was accepted in January 2011 – almost two years ago. To put that in perspective, Boast Busters first aired on November 19th, 2010 –only two months prior; and the first BronyCon took place in June 2011, six months later. (!) Obviously, there was plenty of time for writing, storyboarding and animation to respond to the fanbase if, in fact, it ever did, but it does put the idea that this episode was fanservice into perspective.

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I was reading that on EqD and all I could think was "holy crap! It takes forever to make these episodes!"

It's a bit unusual in this case because the episode was delayed by a season. But, yeah, it usually take a good year or so from concept to completion. I recall Jayson Theissan mentioning at some point that during season one they were working on all episodes simultaneously through the entire production cycle running up to the airdate. It's a lot of freaking work.

It's a bit unusual in this case because the episode was delayed by a season. But, yeah, it usually take a good year or so from concept to completion. I recall Jayson Theissan mentioning at some point that during season one they were working on all episodes simultaneously through the entire production cycle running up to the airdate. It's a lot of freaking work.

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It's a good thing that it's also a labor of love, or I don't know how they would handle all of that stress!

If you have the Amazon season 1 set, they talk a little on the commentaries about it, and apparently Jayson brought work home to his wife and she would board sequences gratis in order to help out. She boarded the whole Winter Wrap-Up song sequence and whatever the song is called in Show Stoppers. That is dedication.